Risks of Marketing Without Strong Branding: Importance of Consistency for Success
Discover why strong branding is vital for marketing success and how consistent branding influences consumer perception and brand identity.
Making the Perfect Marketing PB&J
How to Create a Strong Marketing Campaign. The marketing PB&J is the foundation of a strong marketing campaign and business. I see marketing research as the toasted bread to my peanut butter and jam sandwich (Jam> Jelly). Marketing research (the bread) provides the support needed to keep a campaign from getting messy and failing. The …
AI in Art & Design: Why the Medium Argument Changes Everything
Every generation of creatives has had this conversation. Traditional artists rejected digital artists. Same energy. Same fear. Same outcome. Digital is now the industry standard & nobody questions it. AI in art & design is the same conversation on a new medium. I still consider AI artists, artists. A paintbrush is a medium. A stylus …
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AI in Marketing: Everyone Can Cook Now. Can You Cook with Taste?
AI let everyone into the kitchen & you know we can’t trust everyone’s cooking. Why “No AI Slop” Is The New Creative Standard for AI in Marketing In marketing today, the conversation splits clean: brands using AI to amplify their message & brands using AI to just produce content. One moves the needle with creativity …
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Your Brand Has a Visual Language. You Just Haven’t Defined It.
Visual Language in Branding: How to Build One That Works A consumer lands on your Instagram. Clicks your link. Hits your website. & in under three seconds, before reading a single word, they’ve already decided whether your brand feels credible. That decision is made visually. & most brands are losing it. Every brand communicates visually …
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An AI Song That Started The Conversation
AI as a Creative Tool A while back, I discovered a song I genuinely liked was made with AI. Someone asked me, “Did it change the fact that you liked it? Does it even matter?” My answer: No, I still like the song. But it shifts the appreciation. TAs a result, the appreciation moves away …
Influencers & Social Media: A Marketer’s Gold Mine.
Influencers are brand amplifiers, but more importantly, they’re cultural translators. The strongest partnerships happen when the creator’s voice is trusted, the brand’s values are aligned, & the content feels native to the platform. When done right, it’s not random marketing; It’s co-authored storytelling. Take Under Armour x The Rock. That partnership sold out shoes & …
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Creative Strategy Under Digital Censorship
Digital marketing today lives on rented land. You can build an entire ecosystem on a platform, then lose access overnight. I’ve had friends & clients lose tens of thousands of followers, engagement, & momentum in an instant. Starting over from zero? It sucks. We deal with algorithm shifts, compliance walls, shadow bans, disappearing pages & …
Brand Purpose in Business Development: Why It Matters More Than Ever
Brand purpose is strategic infrastructure. Like Marty Neumeier says, “The brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.” Purpose gives people something to believe in, internally & externally. When it’s clear, it drives alignment, relevance & growth. Look at a personal favorite of mine: Patagonia. Their environmental stance isn’t …
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Visual Marketing Metrics: Measure & Optimize Your Strategy
Track Key Metrics to Maximize the Impact of Your Visual Marketing Stop wasting time & resources on visual marketing that doesn’t deliver results. Tracking visual marketing metrics ensures your content engages your audience & drives meaningful outcomes. This guide explores key metrics—engagement, reach, conversions, & more—to help you optimize your strategy effectively. Key Metrics to …
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Collecting Certifications Like Pokemon Cards: A Journey of Continuous Growth
Over the years, I’ve accumulated about 30 certifications in hashtag#marketing, business, and creative programs. Some were for work and school, but the majority were fueled by my passion for personal growth. Renewing these certifications every 1 to 2 years not only refreshes my memory but also keeps me sharp. I even use some of the …
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Building a Strong Visual Identity
Building a strong visual identity with essential elements: logos, color palettes, & typography. Discover how these components boost brand recognition & create an emotional connection.
Is the Money & Memories Enough?
Suppose you got paid to create a design/work of art, but no one ever saw it. Would that bother you? To me, it’s like that tree falling in the woods but no one around situations. Yes, you got paid for your hard work, enjoyed the process, & learned from your mistakes; but that’s it! No …
The Art of Storytelling Through Conceptual Illustration
The Key Elements of Storytelling Through Conceptual Illustration Storytelling is an art form that has been around for centuries. From ancient myths & legends to modern-day novels & movies, & storytelling has captivated audiences for generations. Two key elements of storytelling through conceptual illustration are symbolism & composition. Symbolism: Illustrators can use visual metaphors & …
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The Importance of Simplicity in Visual Design
Less is More: The Benefits of Simplicity in Visual Design Simplicity is an important principle in visual design. Simplicity makes things clear, concise, & easy to understand. Here’s why simplicity is so important in visual design: That said, stop overcrowding your designs. Simplicity in your #Design means you know what you’re doing. Knowing when to …
Utilize the Power of Color in Visual Communications
Influencing the Viewer’s Behavior and Interpretation with the Power of Color in Visual Communications I utilize the power of color in visual communications. See, color creates an emotional response, draws attention to important information, guides the viewer’s eye, and influences the viewer’s interpretation creating different messages or feelings. In advertising and marketing, color creates an …
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When to Kill Digital & Traditional Media Investments
Knowing When to Kill Digital & Traditional Media Investments in a Marketing Campaign Listen up Brains, I mentioned once The Importance of Monitoring the Strategic Planning Process A.K.A. monitor, tweak, and repeat. Now, we are going to talk about knowing when to kill your investments from digital and traditional media in a marketing campaign. As …
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Become Your Audience’s BFF with Personalized Digital Communications
The trick behind personalized digital communication tactics is to know your audience because you want to get that person’s attention and connect with them as fast as possible.
Strategic Planning: Monitor, Tweak, & Repeat
The Importance of Monitoring the Strategic Planning Process. Remember, one of the best things about digital marketing is that you get to see data/results just about instantly or by the next day. The most significant benefit to the data being shared so quickly is that you can tweak your plan’s budget, channels, media placement, KPI’s, …
Design a Stronger Consumer Connection Through Familiarity
The human brain loves familiarity, patterns, and repetition because they become easier to remember as they appear again. See, familiarity triggers the brain’s cognitive long-term memory. So if we take that knowledge and apply it to design and strategy, we get branding or brand identity. With strong brand awareness, you can create a stronger consumer …
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How the Food Industry Influences Consumers through Visual Tricks
How the Food Industry uses the AIDA Model to Influences Consumers through Visual Tricks There are so many ways that the food industry influences consumers to make purchases. If you haven’t learned by now, food photography uses non-consumable props and substitutes to make the food more appealing and easier to photograph. Making the food more …
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5 Ways the Cell Phone Industry Impacts the Consumer’s Decision Making Process
How the Cell Phone Industry Impacts the Consumer Decision Making Process for the Better Think of all the times you were up late and wanted something sweet, but you know there’s nothing in the kitchen; what do you do? I reach for my phone and see who is open and the closest because I want …
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Does Censorship Lead to Better Art?
Should Art have Censorship if it’s Art? I’m on the fence about this topic because I disagree with the criteria of how social media platforms algorithms flag artwork. There have been countless times where I have had my own artwork flagged for: “nudity,” “sexual content,” “a breach of community guidelines”, “being offensive,” and for “being …
Is Anime an Art?
Anime, a Stylized Genre of Art I discuss this topic all the time with my younger students. To make better sense of anime in the art world, you have to understand that all art can be placed on a spectrum. This spectrum consists of three primary genres: Realism, stylized, and abstract. Take a look at …
The Power of One’s Brand Credibility
How Brand Awareness and Price go Hand-in-Hand The power of one’s brand credibility is sometimes overlooked. Let’s take this question, “What is the going rate for a logo?” and “How much do I charge for a logo?” as examples. The answers are, it depends on how much you want to pay and it depends on …
Where Should You Contact Your Customers
Using the 5 W’s to Understand Your Customers Story: Where Should You Contact Your Customers We have done over the Who, What, and when of the 5 W’s already. If you missed those, don’t worry, I have links to those at the end. Today I’m going to focus on Where, where you should contact your …
Using the 5 W’s to Understand Your Customers Story: When to Contact Your Customers
We have done over the Who and What of the 5 W’s already. If you missed those, don’t worry, I have links to those at the end. Today I’m going to focus on When, when should you contact your consumers? To refresh your memory, the 5 W’s are: who, what, when, where, and why. The …
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Listen to Your Consumers Before Creating Content
Create the Right Content for Your Consumers by Listening to Your Consumers We are in a time where the consumer can talk back to us. The consumer can provide us feedback about their experience, and about our products. Listening to your consumer’s feedback will help you create the right content they will engage with. How …
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Using the 5 W’s to Understand Your Customers Story: Understanding What Challenge(s) Your Consumers are Having
Using grade school literary tactics to better understand your customer’s story and their challenges to build trust. You may recall the 5 W’s from back in grade school when your teacher asked about the book you were supposed to read for homework. To refresh your memory, the 5 W’s are: who, what, when, where, and …
Do I Have Enough Ad Spend and Market Share?
The Magic Link between You Ad Spend and Market Share There’s a magical link between your ad spend and market share. This magical link can dictate whether or not your business will increase its market share in the future. Keep in mind, the more market share you have, the more revenue you’ll generate. The Magic …
Designing Visual Charts & Graphs for Your Business
Organizing Your Business’s Data with Visual Charts & Graphs Organizing your business’s data with visual charts & graphs is the best way to present data. Having good visuals when you’re showing data helps tell the story of how well/bad your business is doing. Like I have said before, the more sensory element you use, the …
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8 Strategies to Expand Your Brand
8 Strategies to Use When You Want to Expand Your Brand Just to make sure we are all on the same page, a brand extension is when a company uses its leverage to launch a new product in a different category. There’s a Good Way and a Bad Way to Expand Your Brand A good …
Your Artistic Style is an Extension of Your Brand
Finding and Using Your Artistic Style as an Extension of Your Brand Once you find your artistic style, it becomes a part of your brand. Your artistic style is what separates you from millions of other artists. Your style is the visual elements (colors, shapes, type, genre, subject matter, etc.) that your followers/fans look for …
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Designing with the Brand’s Core Values in Mind
The Importance of Knowing the Brand’s Core Values When Designing When you’re designing something for a brand, it’s important to design with the brand’s core values in mind. These values should be used and thought of as design elements. These are the attributes that your design has to reflect in order to remain on-brand. The …
6 Questions to Checked Your Brand’s Awareness
Checking Your Brand’s Awareness with a Quick 6 Question Survey It doesn’t take much to check your brand’s awareness. I say you only need 6 easy questions to determine if your brand is making enough noise in the market. These 6 survey questions would be given to either a new/recently joined consumer or a consumer …
Your Product’s Packaging Can Make or Break a Sale
The Way Your Product’s Packaging Can Influence Your Consumer’s Purchase A product’s packaging can make or break a sale, especially if it’s the first time consumers are buying said product. Think about when you’re looking at a product you’re unfamiliar with. The first thing you notice is the product’s packaging, and then you scan the …
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The Freelancer’s Golden Peek to Brand Success
Focusing on Your Highest Quality Services that Lead to Brand Success As a freelancer, you have to position your brand for success and make the switch from generalist to specialist. Every freelancer starts with having 10+ different services that they provide to their consumers. With time and experience, we learn that this is ineffective. The …
The Message is Power
The Power Behind a Strong Brand’s Message Words can spark emotion, inspiration, motivation, creativity, even destruction. When choosing which words to associate with your brand, think about what you believe your brand stands for. Once you have a clear idea of your brand’s message -its purpose of existence, sum it up in a few words …
Consumers will Pay Premium Prices
How Price Elasticity Affects Your Consumers One of the hardest decisions in running a business is setting your prices for your products/services. If you undersell, you’ll go bankrupt. If you oversell, there’s a chance no one will buy it. If you make just enough, then you’ll only break even. Once you find that sweet spot …
Brands are “People” Too
Your Brands Personality Creates Opportunities and an Audience One of the best things a brand can do is be unique, confident, and have their own personality. If I were to tell you to imagine Apple, Google, or Amazon as a person, I’m 90% confident we would all come up with similar personifications of these brands. …
Maximize Your Consumers’ Time
Using a Consistent Identity and Customized Content to Speed Up the Buying Process. Listen here, Brains. Your goal is to help your consumers find what they want faster, and the way we are going to do this is with a consistent identity and customized content. The smoother and faster the buying process becomes, the more …
Using Multiple Sensory Elements in Your Campaigns
When I create a campaign, I make sure I use a minimum of three sensory elements as possible. This was something I’ve learned over the years through close observation. Sensory elements can be anything that affects the audience’s senses (touch, smell, hear, sight, motion, taste, balance, etc.). Using multiple sensory elements can increase the engagement …
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Should I Pay More Attention To My Engagements or Sales?
Deciding what’s more important for your company Engagements or Sales? I get this question from my clients all the time, and it depends on your company’s goal. If your goal is to increase engagements or awareness, you should pay more attention to your engagements. If your goal is to increase sales or determine if a …
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Eliminate the Transaction Cost to Get the Sale
Increase sales by eliminating transaction cost The amount of emails we deleted in a week from sales that sound good but aren’t worth the effort is ridiculous. It’s never that the sale(s) weren’t good enough to spark excitement but that the transaction cost is more than we want to give. In reality, we don’t want …
Obtaining Success For Freelance Artist & Designer
3 Steps to obtaining success as a freelance artist & designer using specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based (SMART) goals When it comes to obtaining success for an artist or designer, we have to define what “success” means. At the end of the day, “success” is not the same for everyone. For one artist, “success” …
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